Method and system for facilitating the anonymous purchase of goods and services from an e-commerce website

ABSTRACT

A method and system for facilitating the purchase of goods and services anonymously from an e-commerce website is provided. The method includes providing a plurality of transaction account numbers, each of which is associated with a monetary load value. The transaction account numbers are stored in a database having a plurality of records. Each of the records corresponds to one of the transaction account numbers. None of the records are configured to store identifying information of a purchaser of one of the transaction numbers. A request for an authorization of a purchase transaction having a purchase value is received from a remote computer terminal. The request is associated with a transaction account number. If the purchase value does not exceed the monetary value associated with the transaction account number, an authorization message is sent to the remote computer terminal granting the request.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims priority to, and the benefit of, U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 60/220,381, filed Jul. 24, 2000,which is hereby incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The present invention relates generally to a system and methodfor purchasing goods and services. More particularly, the system andmethod allows a consumer to purchase goods and services anonymously overa global computer network.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] The proliferation of the Internet has resulted in a thrivingelectronic commerce industry, where more and more products and servicesare available to consumers from e-commerce websites. In traditionalonline consumer-merchant transactions, consumers typically providemerchants with transaction numbers (e.g., charge card numbers) fromtheir existing debit, credit or other transaction/service cards (e.g.,American Express®, VISA®, MasterCard®, Discover Card®, etc.). However,to obtain such transaction numbers, a consumer typically must have aprior bank or credit card company affiliation, wherein the bank orcredit card company retains identifying information, such as name,address, birth date, and credit history about the consumer. Thus,purchasers without bank or credit card company affiliations, such asteenagers, international visitors, and students, and those who cannotacquire credit may be limited with respect to online purchases.

[0004] Moreover, transmission of transaction numbers over the Internetvia traditional means has created increased opportunities for fraud. Forexample, it is possible for these numbers to be intercepted duringtransmission, after transmission, while being stored electronically orat the merchant's online or offline location. In traditional onlinepurchases, a consumer often browses the Internet for items to purchase.When the consumer finds an item that he or she is interested inpurchasing, the consumer typically selects the item to add to a virtualshopping cart. When the consumer has finished shopping, and desires topurchase an item, the consumer usually proceeds to a virtual checkout,where the consumer is prompted for payment and delivery information. Theconsumer then typically is required to enter the appropriate deliveryand credit card information, where the consumer enters the credit cardnumber directly from the consumer's physical credit card and enterspersonal billing information relating to the credit card. Thisinformation is then transmitted electronically to the merchant via apublic internet network. Although the transmission is often encrypted,there exists the possibility that the information will be interceptedenroute to the merchant. More likely, however, is that the informationwill be fraudulently used by an unscrupulous third party, such as adishonest employee of the merchant, who may be able to assume theidentity of the consumer with this information.

[0005] For more information on transaction systems, electronic commercesystems, digital wallet systems and loyalty systems, see, for example,the Shop AMEX™ system as disclosed in Ser. No. 60/230,190 filed Sept. 5,2000; the MR as Currency™ and Loyalty Rewards Systems as disclosed inSer. No. 60/197,296 filed on Apr. 14, 2000, Ser. No. 60/200,492 filedApr. 28, 2000, and Ser. No. 60/201,114 filed May 2, 2000; a digitalwallet system as disclosed in U.S. Ser. No. 09/652,899 filed Aug. 31,2000; a stored value card as disclosed in Ser. No. 09/241,188 filed onFeb. 1, 1999; a system for facilitating transactions using secondarytransaction numbers as disclosed in Ser. No. 09/800,461 filed on Mar. 7,2001; and also in related provisional applications Ser. No. 60/187,620filed Mar. 7, 2000, Ser. No. 60/200,625 filed Apr. 28, 2000, and Ser.No. 60/213,323 filed May 22, 2000, the general technology of allreferences is hereby incorporated by reference. Other examples of onlinemembership reward systems are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,774,870,issued on Jun. 30, 1998, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,009,412, issued on Dec. 29,1999, along with other incentive award programs described in U.S. Pat.Nos. 5,774,870 and 6,009,412, issued to Thomas W. Storey and assigned toNetcentives, the general technology of all references is herebyincorporated by reference. Additional information relating to smart cardand smart card reader payment technology is disclosed in Ser. No.60/232,040, filed on Sept. 12, 2000, and U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,742,845;5,898,838 and 5,905,908, owned by Datascape; the general technology ofall references is hereby incorporated by reference. Information onpoint-of-sale systems and the exploitation of point-of-sale data isdisclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,832,457, issued on Nov. 3, 1998 to O'Brienet al., the general technology of which is hereby incorporated byreference.

[0006] Accordingly, a need exists for a method and system offacilitating anonymous online purchase transactions. In addition, a needexists for a method and system of facilitating online purchases with areduced risk of fraud to the consumer.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] This summary of the invention section is intended to introducethe reader to aspects of the invention and is not a complete descriptionof the invention. Particular aspects of the invention are pointed out inother sections hereinbelow, and the invention is set forth in theappended claims which alone demarcate its scope.

[0008] In one exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a methodfor facilitating the anonymous purchase of goods and services by aconsumer from an e-commerce website is provided. The method includesproviding a plurality of transaction account numbers, wherein each ofthe transaction account numbers is associated with a monetary loadvalue. The transaction account numbers are stored in a database whichhas a plurality of records. Each record corresponds to one of thetransaction account numbers. None of the records is configured to storeidentifying information of a purchaser of one of the transactionnumbers. A request for an authorization of a purchase transaction havinga purchase value is received from a remote computer terminal, whereinthe request is associated with one of the transaction account numbers.The method further includes comparing the purchase value to the monetaryload value associated with the transaction account number to determineif the purchase value exceeds the monetary load value. The methodfurther includes authorizing the request for an authorization of apurchase transaction. The purchase value is then subtracted from themonetary load value associated with the transaction account number toobtain an updated monetary load value. The updated monetary load valueis then associated with the transaction account number.

[0009] In another exemplary embodiment of the invention, a system forfacilitating the anonymous purchase of goods and services by a consumerfrom an e-commerce website includes an account authorization system anda database. The database is configured to store a plurality oftransaction account numbers. The database has a plurality of records,each record corresponding to one of the transaction account numbers.None of the records is configured to store identifying information of apurchaser associated with one of the transaction account numbers. Theaccount authorization system is in operative communication with saiddatabase and is configured to receive a request for an authorization ofa purchase transaction having a purchase value. The request isassociated with one of the transaction account numbers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] The subject invention will hereinafter be described inconjunction with the appended drawing figures, wherein like numeralsdenote like elements, and:

[0011]FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of an exemplary embodiment ofthe present invention;

[0012]FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of another exemplaryembodiment of the present invention;

[0013]FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of an exemplary process of the presentinvention;

[0014]FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of another exemplary process of thepresent invention; and

[0015]FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of yet another exemplary process of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

[0016] Systems and methods in accordance with various aspects of thepresent invention permit purchasers to anonymously purchase goods andservices from e-commerce websites without having to have a bank orcredit card company affiliation. While the system may contemplateupgrades or reconfigurations of existing processing systems, changes tocardholder or merchant systems are not necessarily required by thepresent invention. The transaction system herein described can beseamlessly integrated into current electronic commerce processes withminimal to no changes to existing systems used by cardholders ormerchants.

[0017] The present invention may be described herein in terms offunctional block components, screen shots, optional selections andvarious processing steps. It should be appreciated that such functionalblocks may be realized by any number of hardware and/or softwarecomponents configured to perform the specified functions. For example,the present invention may employ various integrated circuit components,e.g., memory elements, processing elements, logic elements, look-uptables, and the like, which may carry out a variety of functions underthe control of one or more microprocessors or other control devices.Similarly, the software elements of the present invention may beimplemented with any programming or scripting language such as C, C++,Java, COBOL, assembler, PERL, eXtensible Markup Language (XML), with thevarious algorithms being implemented with any combination of datastructures, objects, processes, routines or other programming elements.Further, it should be noted that the present invention may employ anynumber of conventional techniques for data transmission, signaling, dataprocessing, network control, and the like. Still further, the inventioncould be used to detect or prevent security issues with a client-sidescripting language, such as JavaScript, VBScript or the like. For abasic introduction of cryptography, please review a text written byBruce Schneider which is entitled “Applied Cryptography: Protocols,Algorithms, And Source Code In C,” published by John Wiley & Sons(second edition, 1996), which is hereby incorporated by reference.

Overview of System

[0018] The present invention generally relates to a transaction systemwhere a first party to a transaction (“cardholder”) provides to a secondparty to the transaction (“merchant”) a transaction account number,referred to herein as an “Internet account number,”that was generated byan issuer (“card provider”) for use over the Internet. A “transaction,”as defined herein, includes any exchange or delivery of value, exchangeor delivery of data, gifting of value or data, etc. The term“transaction” not only contemplates an exchange of goods or services forvalue from one party to another, but also the gifting of something fromone party to another. Additionally, transaction numbers are accountnumbers that are used to facilitate any type of transaction.

[0019] An “account number”, as used herein, includes any device, code,or other identifier/indicia suitably configured to allow the consumer tointeract or communicate with the system, such as, for example,authorization/access code, personal identification number (PIN),Internet code, other identification code, and/or the like which isoptionally located on a rewards card, charge card, credit card, debitcard, prepaid card, telephone card, smart card, magnetic stripe card,bar code card, paper receipt and/or the like. The account number may bedistributed and stored in any form of paper, plastic, electronic,magnetic, and/or optical device capable of transmitting the number to aparty to the transaction.

[0020] In an exemplary embodiment, the Internet account number has thesame industry standard format that is used for regular banking cards(e.g., 15 or 16 digit numbers). It should be appreciated that the numbermay be, for example, a sixteen-digit number similar to a credit cardnumber, although each card provider has its own number system, such asthe fifteen-digit numbering system used by American Express. Each cardprovider's card numbers comply with that card provider's standardizedformat such that a card provider using a sixteen-digit format willgenerally use four spaced sets of numbers, as represented by the number“0000 0000 0000 0000.” The first five to seven digits may be reservedfor processing purposes and identify the card provider, card type, etc.The intermediary eight-to-ten digits are used to uniquely identify amonetary account. The invention contemplates the use of other numbers,indicia, codes or other security steps in addition to the use of theInternet account number, but in an exemplary embodiment, only theInternet account number is provided to the merchant. In an exemplaryembodiment of the invention, although not required, the Internet accountnumber may be immediately usable by the cardholder upon purchase,without the need for activation by the cardholder. In addition, theInternet account number may have associated conditions or parameters ofuse restrictions which limit use of the Internet account number.

[0021] While an exemplary embodiment of the invention is described inassociation with a transaction system, the invention contemplates anytype of networks or transaction systems, including, for example,unsecure networks, public networks, wireless networks, closed networks,open networks, intranets, extranets, and/or the like.

[0022] Referencing the computer networked aspect of an exemplaryembodiment of this invention, each participant is equipped with acomputing system to facilitate online commerce transactions. Thecomputing systems may be connected with each other via a datacommunication network. The cardholder system and the merchant e-commercewebsite system may be connected by a public network, which is assumed tobe insecure and open to eavesdroppers. In the illustratedimplementation, the network is embodied as the Internet. In thiscontext, the computers may or may not be connected to the Internet atall times. For instance, the cardholder system may employ a modem tooccasionally connect to the Internet, whereas the merchant e-commercewebsite system might maintain a permanent connection to the Internet. Itis noted that the network may be implemented as other types of networks,such as an interactive television (ITV) network. Specific informationrelated to the protocols, standards, and application software utilizedin connection with the Internet may not be discussed herein. For furtherinformation regarding such details, see, for example, DILIP NAIK,INTERNET STANDARDS AND PROTOCOLS (1998); JAVA 2 COMPLETE, variousauthors, (Sybex 1999); DEBORAH RAY AND ERIC RAY, MASTERING HTML 4.0(1997). LOSHIN, TCP/IP CLEARLY EXPLAINED (1997). All of these texts arehereby incorporated by reference.

[0023] The merchant computer system and the card provider computersystem may be interconnected via a second network, referred to as apayment network. The payment network represents existing proprietarynetworks that presently accommodate transactions for credit cards, debitcards, and other types of financial/banking cards. The payment networkis a closed network that is assumed to be secure from eavesdroppers.Examples of the payment network include the American Express®, VisaNet®and the Veriphone® networks.

[0024] The first party to the transaction, the cardholder, is anyindividual, business or other entity who uses an Internet account numberto facilitate any transaction. Another embodiment contemplates thecardholder gifting an Internet account number to a fourth party to thetransaction. The term “cardholder” may also be referred to herein as“consumer,” “user,” “customer” or the like.

[0025] The second party to the transaction, the merchant, is anyindividual, business, or other entity who receives an Internettransaction number, whether or not in exchange for goods or services.For example, in one embodiment, a merchant may be an online bookstoresuch as Amazon.com®.

[0026] The third party to the transaction, a transaction host, referredto herein as the card provider, includes any provider of products and/orservices that facilitates any type of transaction. The card providerestablishes and maintains account and/or transaction informationassociated with the Internet account number. The card provider may issueproducts to the cardholder and may also provide both the cardholder andthe merchant with the processes to facilitate the transaction system ofthe present invention. The card provider may include banks, creditunions, credit, debit or other transaction-related companies, or anyother type of card or account issuing institutions, such ascard-sponsoring companies, or third party providers under contract withfinancial institutions. Unless otherwise specifically set forth herein,although referred to as “card provider,” this term should be understoodto mean any entity issuing any type of account to facilitate anytransaction, exchange or service over the Internet, and should not belimited to companies possessing or issuing physical cards.

[0027] Referring now to FIG. 1, a system in accordance with the presentinvention generally comprises one or more cardholder systems 1 connectedvia respective data links 4 and 10 to a public network 8 and to amerchant computer system 2 providing an e-commerce website. The merchantcomputer system 2 in turn is connected via data links 5 to a paymentnetwork 9 and to a card provider system 3. The card provider system 3includes an Internet account authorization system 6 and a database 7. Inan alternative embodiment, cardholder system 1 may also be connected tocard provider system 3 via data links 4 and 11.

[0028] Cardholder system 1 may include any convenient combination ofhardware and software components configured to allow a cardholder tocommunicate with the merchant via the merchant e-commerce website 2 orto communicate with the card provider system 3. For example, cardholdersystem 1 might include a standard personal computer (PC) comprising aCPU, monitor, storage, keyboard, mouse, and communication hardwareappropriate for the given data links 4, 10 and 11, (e.g., V.90 modem,network card, cable modem, etc.). The cardholder system 1 alsopreferably includes application software configured to communicate overdata links 4, 10 and 11, for example, a WWW browser such as NetscapeNavigator®, Microsoft Internet Explorer®, or any other present or futurecommunication software which operates in accordance with the HTML orHTTP protocols. As will be appreciated, cardholder system 1 willtypically include an operating system (e.g., Windows 95/98/2000, Linux,Solaris, etc.) as well as various conventional support software anddrivers typically associated with computers. In an alternativeembodiment, cardholder system 1 is a personal data assistant (PDA)capable of communicating with the merchant via the e-commerce websitesystem 2. In yet another embodiment, cardholder system 1 is a kiosklocated, for example, at a mall, theme park, airport, or any otherlocation from which a cardholder might wish to purchase goods orservices over the Internet.

[0029] A variety of conventional communications media and protocols maybe used for data links 4, 10 and 11. Such links might include, forexample, a connection to an Internet Service Provider (ISP) over thelocal loop as is typically used in connection with standard modemcommunication, cable modem, Dish networks, ISDN, Digital Subscriber Line(xDSL), or various wireless communication methods. Cardholder system 1might also reside within a local area network (LAN) which interfaces tomerchant e-commerce website 2 and card provider system 3 via a leasedline (T1, DS3, etc.). Such communication methods are well known in theart, and are covered in a variety of standard texts. See, e.g., GILBERTHELD, UNDERSTANDING DATA COMMUNICATIONS (1996), hereby incorporated byreference.

[0030] As the present invention is best deployed in the context of alarge user-base, the cardholder system 1 preferably is in communicationwith the Internet. As used herein, the term Internet refers to theglobal, packet-switched network utilizing the TCP/IP suite of protocols.Nevertheless, the present invention may be implemented in other networkcontexts, including any future alternatives to the Internet, as well asother suitable internetworks based on other open or proprietaryprotocols.

[0031] The merchant e-commerce website system 2 may include anycombination of hardware, software, and networking components configuredto transmit, receive and process transaction-related data to and fromthe cardholder system 1 and transmit, receive and processtransaction-related data to and from card provider system 3. Inaddition, merchant e-commerce website system 2 provides a suitablewebsite or other Internetbased graphical user interface which isaccessible by cardholders. The term website as it is used herein is notmeant to limit the type of documents and applications that might be usedto interact with a cardholder. For example, a typical website mightinclude, in addition to standard HTML documents, various forms, Javaapplets, Javascript, active server pages (AS), common gateway interfacescripts (CGI), extensible markup language (XML), dynamic HTML, cascadingstyle sheets (CSS), helper applications, plug-ins and the like.

[0032] The Internet account authorization system (“IAAS”) 6 of cardprovider system 3 includes any combination of hardware and softwarecomponents configured to transmit, receive and processtransaction-related data to and from the merchant e-commerce websitesystem 2, and to interrogate database 7. Database 7 is a relationaldatabase comprising various records for managing and translating avariety of information, such as Internet account numbers, transactiondata, conditions/rules, etc. In an exemplary embodiment, database 7 hasa plurality of records. Each record is associated with an Internetaccount number, which is stored in a field of the record. In addition toa field for storing an Internet account number, each record includes afield for storing a monetary value associated with the Internet accountnumber. The record may also contain a field for indicating whether theaccount number has been reported lost or stolen, a field indicating theexpiration date of the Internet account number, and a field indicatingrules or conditions for use of the Internet account number. Because thesystem of the present invention is directed to permitting anonymoustransactions over the Internet, in one embodiment of the invention therecords of the database that are associated with Internet accountnumbers do not store identifying information of the purchasers or usersof the Internet account numbers. As used herein, “identifyinginformation” of the cardholder may include name, address, socialsecurity number, credit card or debit card numbers or any otherinformation that can be used to obtain the identity of a cardholder.Records in the database that are associated with account numbers otherthan Internet account numbers may store identifying information ofpurchasers of those account numbers.

[0033] In an alternate embodiment, the records of the database that areassociated with Internet account numbers may store identifyinginformation of purchasers or users of the Internet account numbers butthe card provider system 3 is not configured to provide such identifyinginformation to persons, entities or systems that are not associated withor affiliated with card provider system 3. For example, while therecords that are associated with Internet account numbers may store thenames and/or addresses of purchasers or users of the Internet accountnumbers, card provider system 3 does not distribute such information tomerchants or other third-party entities such as banks, credit bureaus orthe like. Accordingly, the identity of the Internet account numberpurchasers and users remains anonymous.

[0034] The systems of the present invention may include a host server orother computer systems including a processor for processing digitaldata, a memory coupled to said processor for storing digital data, aninput digitizer coupled to the processor for inputting digital data, anapplication program stored in said memory and accessible by saidprocessor for directing processing of digital data by said processor, adisplay coupled to the processor and memory for displaying informationderived from digital data processed by said processor and a plurality ofdatabases, said databases including client data, merchant data,financial institution data and/or like data that could be used inassociation with the present invention. Database 7 may be any type ofdatabase, such as relational, hierarchical, object-oriented, and/or thelike. Common database products that may be used to implement database 7include DB2 by IBM (White Plains, N.Y.), any of the database productsavailable from Oracle Corporation (Redwood Shores, Calif.), MicrosoftAccess by Microsoft Corporation (Redmond, Wash.), or any other databaseproduct. Database 7 may be organized in any suitable manner, includingas data tables or lookup tables.

[0035] Association of certain data may be accomplished through any dataassociation technique known and practiced in the art. For example, theassociation may be accomplished either manually or automatically.Automatic association techniques may include, for example, a databasesearch, a database merge, GREP, AGREP, SQL, and/or the like. Theassociation step may be accomplished by a database merge function, forexample, using a “key field” in each of the manufacturer and retailerdata tables. A “key field” partitions the database according to thehigh-level class of objects defined by the key field. For example, acertain class may be designated as a key field in both the first datatable and the second data table, and the two data tables may then bemerged on the basis of the class data in the key field. In thisembodiment, the data corresponding to the key field in each of themerged data tables is preferably the same. However, data tables havingsimilar, though not identical, data in the key fields may also be mergedby using AGREP, for example.

Purchase of Internet Account Number

[0036] Referring now to FIG. 2, an exemplary method for purchasing anInternet account number will now be described. A purchase venue system12 may be a vending machine, an ATM or any other automated computersystem in communication with a computer network but is preferably apoint-of-sale (“POS”) terminal located at a retail establishment (e.g.,gasoline stations, convenience stores, etc.). Alternatively, thepurchase venue system may be a purchaser's PC, PDA or telephone which isin communication with the card provider system 3. Purchase venue system12 is in communication with card provider system 3 via data links 13 ofa network 14 such as a payment network described above. The paymentnetwork represents existing proprietary networks that presentlyaccommodate transactions for credit cards, debit cards, and other typesof financial/banking cards. The payment network is a closed network thatis assumed to be secure from eavesdroppers. Examples of the paymentnetwork include the American Express®, VisaNet® and the Veriphone®networks.

[0037] In one exemplary embodiment, a plurality of cards are printedwith each card having an Internet account number printed, embossed,encoded or the like onto the card (hereinafter, “Internet card”).Preferably, the Internet cards are of the same size and shape asstandard credit cards, debit cards and stored value cards. The Internetcards may have a magnetic stripe that stores or accesses the Internetaccount number and also may have the Internet account number printed onthe card. Alternatively, the Internet cards may be printed with anidentification number that corresponds to an Internet account number sothat the Internet account number is not viewable or derivable from thecard.

[0038] Alternatively, upon purchase of an Internet account number, asdescribed in more detail below, the Internet account number may beprovided to the purchaser/cardholder by mechanisms other than physicalcards. For example, the Internet account number may be printed on apaper receipt which is printed and given to the purchaser/cardholder bythe purchase venue system 12. Alternatively, if the purchase venuesystem 12 is the PC or PDA of a purchaser/cardholder, the Internetaccount number can be transmitted to the display screen of the PC or PDAto be downloaded, printed out or written down by thepurchaser/cardholder. If the purchase venue system 12 is a telephone,the Internet account number may be vocalized either automatically or bya service representative so that the purchaser/cardholder can record theInternet account number for later use.

[0039] The Internet account numbers may be distributed in a non-activestate to retailers having purchased venue systems 12. Accordingly, untilactivated, the Internet account numbers have no monetary value and thepotential of fraud due to theft of the Internet cards while beingdistributed to or stored at the retailers is reduced. In an alternativeembodiment, the Internet account numbers may be distributed to retailersin an active but non-funded state. In another alternative embodiment,the Internet account numbers may be distributed in an activated andfunded state. Such activated and funded cards may be distributed byretailers, for example, as promotional gift items. To reduce the risk oftheft or fraud, the Internet account numbers may be funded for a nominalamount, such as, for example, $5 or $10. In addition, the Internetaccount numbers may be activated for a relatively short period of time,such as, for example, one or two months.

[0040] In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, with continuedreference to FIG. 2, database 7 of the card provider system 3 has aplurality of records, each record having a plurality of fields. Thedatabase may have only records that are associated with Internet accountnumbers or may have records associated with other account numbers inaddition to records associated with the Internet account numbers. Eachrecord associated with an Internet account number has stored in a fieldan Internet account number similar to, or derivable from, the numberwhich has been printed, embossed, encoded or the like on an Internetcard. Each such record also has a field for storing a monetary valueassociated with the Internet account number. Upon generation of theInternet account number, the monetary value associated with the Internetaccount number is zero. Each record also may have a field that indicateswhether the Internet account number is activated or nonactivated. Inaddition, each record may have a field that indicates whether theInternet account number has been reported lost or stolen, a fieldindicating the expiration date of the Internet account number, a fieldthat stores a code indicating whether the monetary value has beenreloaded, a field indicating the retailer to whom the Internet card wasshipped and the date it was shipped, and a field for storing dataregarding redemption and transaction history. The record may furtherinclude any additional fields for storing information relating to thetransaction history of the Internet account number.

[0041] In an alternative embodiment of the invention, each Internetaccount number may be predenominated. If the Internet account number ispredenominated, the record also has a field that indicates the amount ofpredenomination, for example, $20, $50, $100, etc. The cardholder paysthe predenominated amount for the associated Internet account number,and any additional processing fees charged by the merchant or cardprovider or any other taxes. In another embodiment, if the Internetaccount number can be re-loaded, as described below, the predenominatedamount may represent the maximum monetary amount that can be loaded tothe Internet account number.

[0042] In another embodiment, the record may have fields identifyinglimited-use (or conditions-of-use) parameters placed upon the Internetaccount number by either the cardholder, the merchant or the cardprovider. Parameters may include, for example: (1) use of the Internetaccount number for only a predetermined number of transactions; (2)cardholder-determined expiration date; (3) limiting use of the Internetaccount number to a specified dollar amount per transaction, maximumdollar amount per month, etc.; (4) use of the Internet card for aspecified merchant only; or (5) any combination of these parameters.

[0043] With continued reference to FIG. 2, and with reference to FIG. 3,when a cardholder/purchaser purchases an Internet card at a retailer,the retailer or the purchaser may swipe the card through the purchasevenue system 12, such as a POS terminal, which reads the Internetaccount number from the magnetic stripe on the card (Step 30).Alternatively, the retailer or purchaser may manually enter the Internetaccount number from the keyboard of the POS terminal or telephone theinformation into a location to obtain a verbal authorization. Theretailer or purchaser may then input into the purchase venue system thepurchaser's requested monetary load value to be loaded to the Internetcard (Step 31). The Internet card number and monetary load valueinformation are then transmitted over data links 13 to the Internetaccount authorization system (IAAS) 6 (Step 32). The IAAS 6 interrogatesthe database to find a record associated with an Internet account numberthat matches the transmitted Internet account number (Step 33).

[0044] If no Internet account number is located in the database 7 thatmatches the transmitted Internet account number, the IAAS 6 transmits amessage to the purchase venue system via data links 13 informing theretailer that activation of the Internet card has been denied. If anInternet account number in database 7 matches the transmitted Internetaccount number, the IAAS 6 interrogates the record associated with theInternet account number to determine if the Internet account number hasbeen reported lost or stolen (Step 34). If the Internet account numberhas been reported as lost or stolen, the IAAS 6 transmits a message tothe purchase venue system via data links 13 informing the retailer thatactivation of the Internet card has been denied. The message may alsodirect the retailer to confiscate the Internet card and return it to thecard provider or otherwise.

[0045] If the Internet account number has not been reported lost orstolen, the monetary load value requested by the cardholder/purchaser isadded to the monetary value field (Step 35). The cardholder/purchasermay then be requested to place any limited-use or conditions-for-useparameters on the Internet card (Step 36). These parameters aretransmitted from the purchase venue system 12 to the IAAS 6 and storedin database 7 (Step 37). Alternatively, the parameters may betransmitted to the IAAS 6 with the Internet account number and monetaryload amount. The IAAS 6 may then transmit a message to the purchasevenue system 12 indicating that the Internet account number is availablefor use (Step 38). The retailer, either before or after the loadprocess, may accept cash, credit or debit card or other form of paymentfrom the cardholder/purchaser equal to the monetary load value loaded tothe card and any other processing fees required by the merchant or thecard provider. In one embodiment of the invention, as the system of thepresent invention permits anonymous purchasing of goods or services, noidentifying information must be provided by the cardholder/purchaser topurchase an Internet account number. In another embodiment of theinvention, identifying information may be provided by thecardholder/purchaser but such information is not disclosed to thirdparties by card provider system 3.

[0046] Alternatively, if, for example, purchase venue system 12 is thePC, PDA, telephone, or the like of a cardholder/purchaser, a request topurchase an Internet account number may be transmitted to card providersystem 3, unaccompanied by an Internet account number. For example, thecardholder/purchaser may access a website or telephone number of thecard provider and, when prompted, may request the purchase of anInternet account number, which request is transmitted to card providersystem 3 over data links 13. The IAAS 6 interrogates the database tolocate an Internet account number that has not been previouslypurchased.

[0047] The cardholder/purchaser may then be prompted by card providersystem 3 to enter the monetary load value to be loaded to the Internetaccount number. Alternatively, the monetary load value may betransmitted to card provider system 3 with the request to purchase theInternet account number. Upon receipt of the monetary load amount, IAAS6 stores the monetary load value in a suitable field of the recordassociated with the Internet account number in database 7. Thecardholder/purchaser may then be requested to place any limited-use orconditions-for-use parameters on the Internet account number. Theparameters are transmitted to card provider system 3 and stored indatabase 7. The cardholder/purchaser may then be prompted to enter acredit or debit card number or other suitable form of payment to coverthe monetary load value loaded to the card and any other processing feesrequired by the card provider. The IAAS 6 may then transmit to thecardholder/purchaser the Internet account number, which is ready foruse.

Using the Internet Card For Transactions Over the Internet

[0048] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 4, when conducting a purchase over theInternet using the Internet card, the cardholder, using the cardholdersystem 1, accesses a merchant ecommerce website system 2 via data links4 and 10, which permit viewing of the merchant's website pages at thecardholder system 1. While viewing the merchant's website pages, thecustomer selects the item(s) or services to be purchased and thenaccesses the payment page. When prompted by the retailer's website toindicate form of payment, the user selects the appropriate button on thebrowser or the icon on the display. Preferably, the website isconfigured to permit the cardholder to select a button associated withthe card provider. For example, if the card provider is AmericanExpress®, the website is configured to permit the cardholder to select abutton which permits payment via an American Express credit card.Alternatively, the website may be configured to permit the cardholder toselect a button associated with any credit card or debit card company. Apop-up window appears asking the cardholder to enter a credit cardnumber. The cardholder then enters the Internet account number ratherthan a credit card number (Step 40). In addition, the merchant websitemay prompt the cardholder to enter the expiration date of the creditcard, where upon the cardholder may enter the expiration date of theInternet account number. As discussed above with the incorporatedreferences and examples, the input of information may be achieved viakeyboard entry, real-time generation of the account number, digitalwallet, swiping the card through a reader (smart card, bar code,magnetic stripe, etc.) and/or the like. While the merchant website mayprompt the cardholder to enter the name of the recipient of theproduct(s) or service(s) and the shipping address for purposes ofdelivering the product(s) or service(s) and for marketing purposes, noidentifying information of the cardholder is required to be supplied toallow a purchase using the Internet card and no such identifyinginformation is transmitted by the card provider system 3. Moreover, themerchant cannot trace the Internet card and corresponding Internetaccount number to a specific owner. Accordingly, the Internet card isconfigured to maintain the complete or substantially complete anonymityof the card owner.

[0049] After the cardholder has supplied all information requested bythe merchant website, the merchant e-commerce website system 2 submits apurchase authorization request with the cardholder's Internet accountnumber to the card provider 3, as it would with any other credit cardtransaction (Step 41). The merchant transmits to the IAAS 6 thecardholder's Internet account number and the purchase amount of thetransaction requested by the cardholder (Step 42). This request isrouted to the IAAS 6 for authorization. As discussed above, the Internetaccount number includes numbers or codes that permit payment network 9to identify the card provider and transmit the purchase authorizationrequest to the appropriate card provider system.

[0050] The IAAS 6 then interrogates the database to find a recordassociated with an Internet account number that matches the cardholder'stransmitted Internet account number (Step 43). If no Internet accountnumber that matches the cardholder's transmitted Internet account numberis located in the database 7, the IAAS 6 transmits a message to themerchant e-commerce website system via data links 5 informing theretailer that the purchase authorization request has been denied. If anInternet account number that matches the cardholder's transmittedInternet account number is located in the database 7, the IAAS 6interrogates the record associated with the Internet account number todetermine if the Internet account number corresponding to the Internetcard has been reported lost or stolen (Step 44). If the Internet accountnumber has been reported as lost or stolen, the IAAS 6 transmits amessage to the merchant e-commerce website via data links 5 informingthe retailer that the purchase authorization request has been denied.The IAAS 6 also interrogates the expiration date stored in the database7 to determine if the Internet account number has expired. If theInternet account number has expired, the IAAS 6 transmits a message tothe merchant e-commerce website via data links 5 informing the retailerthat the purchase authorization request has been denied. In addition,the IAAS 6 may interrogate the database to determine if use of theInternet card has satisfied any use-limitations parameters (Step 45).Alternatively, if the Internet card is a smart card, the use-limitationsparameters may be transmitted with the Internet account number and theIAAS 6 may analyze the transmitted parameters to determine if they havebeen satisfied. If any of the parameters have not been satisfied, theIAAS 6 may transmit a message to the merchant e-commerce website system2 via data links 5 informing the merchant that the purchaseauthorization request has been denied.

[0051] If the Internet account number has not been reported lost orstolen, has not expired, and all use-limitations parameters have beensatisfied, the IAAS 6 may then compare the purchase amount of thetransaction to the monetary load value associated with the Internetaccount number (Step 46). If the purchase amount exceeds the monetaryload value, the IAAS 6 transmits a message to the merchant e-commercewebsite system 2 via data links 5 informing the retailer that thepurchase authorization has been denied. Alternatively, the IAAS 6 maytransmit a message to the merchant ecommerce website system 2 indicatingthe monetary load value associated with the Internet account number sothat the cardholder is able to cover the difference between the purchaseamount and the monetary load value with a credit or debit card or otherform of payment. Alternatively, the system may allow the cardholder toload additional value onto the card sufficient for the transaction toproceed.

[0052] If the purchase amount is equal to or less than the monetary loadvalue associated with the Internet account number, the purchasetransaction associated with the Internet account number is approved andthe IAAS 6 transmits a message granting the purchase authorizationrequest to the merchant e-commerce system 2 (Step 47). The IAAS 6 thendeducts the purchase amount from the monetary load value stored in thedatabase to obtain a new monetary load value and stores this new amountin the monetary value field associated with the Internet account number(Step 48). The merchant is subsequently paid the purchase amount by thecard provider by typical settlement procedures well known in thefinancial industry. One skilled in the art will appreciate that any ofthe above steps may be optional or preformed in any order. Moreover, theorder of the approval steps may be predetermined generally orpre-established for each account number depending on certain rules.

Using the Internet Card for Transactions At A Retail Establishment

[0053] In another alternative embodiment of the invention, the Internetcard may be used not only to purchase goods and services over a computernetwork, such as the Internet, but may also be used to purchase goodsand services from a “brick and mortar” retailer. Such a transactionemploys a process similar to that illustrated in FIG. 4. The inventioncontemplates that a retailer may have, for example, a kiosk or customercomputer in the retail location and the transaction may occur similar tothe steps set forth above. When purchasing goods or services from aretailer, the cardholder presents the Internet card to the retailer. Theretailer or cardholder swipes the card through a computer terminal, suchas a POS terminal, or, alternatively, manually enters the Internetaccount number via a keyboard attached to the computer terminal. Theretailer then transmits a purchase authorization request with theInternet account number and the purchase amount to the card providersystem 3, as it would with any other credit card transaction. Asdiscussed above, the Internet account number includes numbers or codesthat permit payment network 9 to identify the card provider and transmitthe purchase authorization request to the appropriate card providersystem. The request is routed to the IAAS 6 for authorization via datalinks 5. The IAAS 6 then interrogates the database to find a recordassociated with an Internet account number that matches the cardholder'sInternet account number on the Internet card.

[0054] If no Internet account number that matches the cardholder'sInternet account number is located in the database 7, the IAAS 6transmits a message to the retailer's POS terminal informing theretailer that purchase authorization request has been denied. If anInternet account number that matches the cardholder's Internet accountnumber is located in the database 7, the IAAS 6 interrogates the recordassociated with the Internet account number to determine if the Internetaccount number corresponding to the Internet card has been reported lostor stolen. If the Internet account number has been reported as lost orstolen, the IAAS 6 transmits a message to the retailer informing theretailer that the purchase authorization request has been denied. Themessage may also direct the retailer to confiscate the Internet card andreturn it to the card provider. The IAAS 6 also interrogates theexpiration date stored in the database 7 to determine if the Internetaccount number has expired. If the Internet account number has expired,the IAAS 6 transmits a message to the retailer informing the retailerthat the purchase authorization request has been denied. In addition,the IAAS 6 may interrogate the database to determine if use of theInternet card has satisfied any use-limitations parameters. If any ofthe parameters have not been satisfied, the IAAS 6 may transmit amessage to the retailer informing the retailer that the purchaseauthorization request has been denied.

[0055] If the Internet account number has not been reported lost orstolen, has not expired and all use-limitations parameters have beensatisfied, the IAAS 6 may then compare the purchase amount of thetransaction to the monetary load value associated with the Internetaccount number. If the purchase amount exceeds the monetary load value,the IAAS 6 transmits a message to the retailer via the POS terminalinforming the retailer that the purchase authorization has been denied.Alternatively, the IAAS 6 may transmit a message to the retailerindicating the monetary load value associated with the Internet accountnumber so that the cardholder is able to cover the difference betweenthe purchase amount and the monetary load value with cash, a credit ordebit card or other form of payment or is able to reload the Internetcard account with more funds.

[0056] If the purchase amount is equal to or less than the monetary loadvalue associated with the Internet account number, the purchasetransaction associated with the Internet account number is approved andthe IAAS 6 transmits a message granting the purchase authorizationrequest to the retailer. The IAAS 6 then deducts the purchase amountfrom the monetary load value stored in the database to obtain a newmonetary load value and stores this new amount in the monetary loadvalue field associated with the Internet account number. The retailer issubsequently paid the purchase amount by the card provider by typicalsettlement procedures well known in the financial industry. One skilledin the art will appreciate that any of the above steps may be optionalor performed in any order. Moreover, the order of the approval steps maybe predetermined generally or pre-established for each account numberdepending on certain rules.

Checking Balance of the Internet Account Number

[0057] In another embodiment of the invention, referring again to FIG.1, the cardholder may check the monetary value associated with anInternet account number using the cardholder system 1. In thisembodiment, card provider system 3 provides a suitable website or otherInternet-based graphical user interface that is accessible bycardholders. Using the cardholder system 1, the cardholder accesses thecard provider website through public network 8 via data links 4 and 11.The website is configured to permit the cardholder to request a balanceinquiry and to prompt the cardholder to enter an Internet accountnumber. The input of the Internet account number may be achieved viakeyboard entry, real-time generation of the account number, digitalwallet, swiping the Internet card through a reader (smart card, barcode, magnetic stripe, etc.) and/or the like.

[0058] Once the cardholder has requested a balance inquiry and enteredthe Internet account number, the Internet account number is transmittedto the IAAS 6 of the card provider system 3.

[0059] The IAAS 6 then interrogates database 7 to find a recordassociated with an Internet account number that matches the cardholder'stransmitted account number. If no Internet account number that matchesthe cardholder's transmitted Internet account number is located in thedatabase 7, the IAAS 6 transmits a message to cardholder system 1 viadata links 4 and 11 and public network 8 informing the cardholder thatthe balance inquiry request is denied. If an Internet account numberthat matches the cardholder's transmitted Internet account number islocated in database 7, the IAAS 6 interrogates the record associatedwith the Internet account number to determine if the Internet accountnumber corresponding to the Internet card has been reported lost orstolen. If the Internet account number has been reported lost or stolen,the IAAS 6 transmits a message to cardholder system 1 informing thecardholder that the balance inquiry request is denied. If the Internetaccount number has not been reported lost or stolen, then the IAAS 6interrogates the record associated with the Internet account number tofind the monetary load value. The IAAS 6 then transmits the monetaryload value to the cardholder via data links 4 and 11 and public network8 so it may be viewed by the cardholder on the card provider web site.

[0060] In a further embodiment of the invention, the card providersystem 3 may give the cardholder the option of reloading the Internetaccount number using the card provider website, as described more fullybelow.

[0061] In another exemplary embodiment of the invention, the cardholdermay check the monetary value associated with an Internet account numberusing a telephone. In this embodiment, the cardholder telephones thecard provider and speaks to a telephone service representative or,alternatively, an automatic answering system. The cardholder requests abalance inquiry from the telephone service representative and providesthe telephone service representative with an Internet account number.The telephone service representative then transmits a balance inquiryrequest and the Internet account number to the card provider system 3.The request is received by the IAAS 6 of the card provider system 3,which interrogates the database 7 to locate an Internet account numberthat matches the cardholder's Internet account number. If no Internetaccount number that matches the cardholder's Internet account number islocated in the database 7, the IAAS 6 transmits a message to thetelephone service representative indicating that the balance inquiryrequest is denied.

[0062] If an Internet account number that matches the cardholder'sInternet account number is located in database 7, the IAAS 6interrogates the record associated with the Internet account number todetermine if the Internet account number has been reported lost orstolen. If the Internet account number has been reported lost or stolen,the IAAS 6 transmits a message to the telephone service representativeindicating that the balance inquiry request is denied. If the Internetaccount number has not been reported lost or stolen, then the IAAS 6interrogates the record associated with the Internet account number tofind the monetary load value. The IAAS 6 then transmits the monetaryload value to the telephone service representative, who then providesthe monetary load value to the cardholder.

[0063] In a further embodiment of the invention, the telephone servicerepresentative may give the cardholder the option of reloading theInternet account number, as described more fully below.

Reloading the Internet Account Number

[0064] If, after purchase of an Internet card, the cardholder desires toreload the card to add additional funds to the card, the cardholder maydo so at a “brick and mortar” retailer. Alternatively, as explained inmore detail below, the cardholder may load the Internet card over thetelephone, ATM or via the Internet.

[0065] As illustrated in FIG. 5, at a retail establishment, the Internetcard is swiped through a computer terminal, such as a POS terminal,which reads the Internet account number from the magnetic stripe on thecard (Step 50). Alternatively, the cardholder or retailer may manuallyinput the Internet account number into the terminal via a keyboardconnected to the terminal. The cardholder or retailer then inputs theadditional monetary amount requested by the cardholder to be added tothe Internet card (Step 51). The Internet account number and additionalmonetary amount are then transmitted to the card provider system 3 via arequest for a reload authorization (Step 52). The request is received bythe IAAS 6 of the card provider system, which interrogates the database7 to locate an Internet account number that matches the account numberprinted or encoded on the cardholder's Internet card (Step 53).

[0066] If no Internet account number that matches the cardholder'sInternet account number is located in the database 7, the IAAS 6transmits a message to the retailer's POS terminal informing theretailer that reloading authorization request has been denied. If anInternet account number that matches the cardholder's Internet accountnumber is located in database 7, the IAAS 6 interrogates the database toensure that the Internet account number has not expired and that anystored use-limitations parameters do not prohibit reloading. If theInternet account number has expired or if any use-limitations precludereloading, the IAAS 6 transmits a message to the retailer's POS terminaldenying the reloading authorization request. If the Internet accountnumber has not expired and no use-limitations prohibit reloading, theIAAS 6 adds the additional monetary amount to the monetary load valueassociated with the Internet account number to obtain a new monetaryload value and then stores the new monetary load value in the monetaryvalue field associated with the Internet account number. The retailerthen accepts cash, credit card, debit card or other charge card, orother form of payment to cover the additional monetary amount to beloaded to the card and any other processing fees. The retailersubsequently pays the additional monetary amount to the card provider bytypical settlement procedures well known in the financial industry.

[0067] If the cardholder desires to reload the Internet card over thetelephone, the cardholder telephones the card provider and speaks to atelephone service representative or, alternatively, an automaticanswering system. The telephone service representative requests theInternet account number and the additional monetary amount to be addedto the card from the cardholder and transmits a request forauthorization to reload the card, which request is accompanied by theInternet account number and additional monetary amount, to the cardprovider system 3. The request is received by the IAAS 6 of the cardprovider system 3, which interrogates the database 7 to locate anInternet account number that matches the account number on thecardholder's Internet card. If no Internet account number that matchesthe cardholder's Internet account number is located in the database 7,the IAAS 6 transmits a message to the telephone service representativeindicating that the reloading authorization request has been denied.

[0068] If an Internet account number that matches the cardholder'sInternet account number is located in database 7, the IAAS 6interrogates the database as described above to determine if theInternet account number has expired or if use-limitations prohibitreloading. If the Internet account number has not expired and nouse-limitations prohibit reloading, the IAAS 6 adds the additionalmonetary amount to the monetary load value associated with the Internetaccount number to obtain a new monetary load value and then stores thenew monetary load value in the monetary value field associated with theInternet account number. The IAAS 6 then sends a message to thetelephone service representative authorizing the reload transaction. Thetelephone service representative then accepts a credit card, debit cardor other charge card number from the cardholder to cover the additionalmonetary amount to be loaded to the card and any other processing fees.

[0069] In yet another embodiment of the invention, the cardholder mayreload the Internet card via an ATM, PDA or Internet website. Thecardholder may input the Internet card into the appropriate port of theATM, PDA or PC, or alternatively, may manually enter the Internetaccount number via a keyboard. When suitably prompted, the cardholdermay then input the additional monetary amount to be added to the card.The ATM, PDA or PC transmits a request for authorization to reload thecard, which request is accompanied by the Internet account number andadditional monetary amount, to the card provider system 3. The requestis received by the IAAS 6 of the card provider system 3, whichinterrogates the database 7 to locate an Internet account number thatmatches the account number on the cardholder's Internet card.

[0070] If no Internet account number that matches the cardholder'sInternet account number is located in the database 7, the IAAS 6transmits a message to the ATM, PDA or PC indicating that the reloadingauthorization request has been denied. If the Internet account numberthat matches the cardholder's Internet account number is located indatabase 7, the IAAS 6 interrogates the database described above todetermine if the Internet account number has expired or if anyuse-limitations prohibit reloading. If the Internet account number hasnot expired and no use-limitations prohibit reloading, the IAAS 6 addsthe additional monetary amount to the monetary load value associatedwith the Internet account number to obtain a new monetary load value andthen stores the new monetary load value in the monetary value fieldassociated with the Internet account number. The IAAS 6 then sends amessage to the ATM, PDA or PC authorizing the reload transaction. Thecardholder may then input into a suitable port in the ATM, PDA or PC acredit card, debit card or charge card from which funds can be drawn tocover the additional monetary amount and any other processing fees.Alternatively, the cardholder may manually enter a credit card, debitcard or charge card number via a keyboard.

[0071] It will be appreciated, that many applications of the presentinvention could be formulated. One skilled in the art will appreciatethat the networks may include any system for exchanging data ortransacting business, such as the Internet, an intranet, an extranet,WAN, LAN, satellite communications, and/or the like. It is noted thatthe networks may be implemented as other types of networks, such as aninteractive television (ITV) network. The users may interact with thesystem via any input device such as a keyboard, mouse, kiosk, personaldigital assistant, handheld computer (e.g., Palm Pilot®), cellular phoneand/or the like. Similarly, the invention could be used in conjunctionwith any type of personal computer, network computer, workstation,minicomputer, mainframe, or the like running any operating system suchas any version of Windows, Windows NT, Windows2000, Windows 98, Windows95, MacOS, OS/2, BeOS, Linux, UNIX, or the like. Moreover, although theinvention is frequently described herein as being implemented withTCP/IP communications protocols, it will be readily understood that theinvention could also be implemented using IPX, Appletalk, IP-6, NetBIOS,OSI or any number of existing or future protocols. Moreover, the systemcontemplates the use, sale or distribution of any goods, services orinformation over any network having similar functionality describedherein.

[0072] As will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art, thepresent invention may be embodied as a method, a data processing system,a device for data processing, and/or a computer program product.Accordingly, the present invention may take the form of an entirelysoftware embodiment, an entirely hardware embodiment, or an embodimentcombining aspects of both software and hardware. Furthermore, thepresent invention may take the form of a computer program product on acomputer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program codemeans embodied in the storage medium. Any suitable computer-readablestorage medium may be utilized, including hard disks, CD-ROM, opticalstorage devices, magnetic storage devices, and/or the like.

[0073] It should be appreciated that the particular implementationsshown and described herein are illustrative of the invention and itsbest mode and are not intended to otherwise limit the scope of thepresent invention in any way. Indeed, for the sake of brevity,conventional data networking, application development and otherfunctional aspects of the systems (and components of the individualoperating components of the systems) may not be described in detailherein. Furthermore, the connecting lines shown in the various figurescontained herein are intended to represent exemplary functionalrelationships and/or physical couplings between the various elements. Itshould be noted that many alternative or additional functionalrelationships or physical connections may be present in a practicalelectronic transaction system.

[0074] Communication between the parties to the transaction and thesystem of the present invention is accomplished through any suitablecommunication means, such as, for example, a telephone network,Intranet, Internet, point of interaction device (point of sale device,personal digital assistant, cellular phone, kiosk, etc.), onlinecommunications, off-line communications, wireless communications, and/orthe like. One skilled in the art will also appreciate that, for securityreasons, any databases, systems, or components of the present inventionmay consist of any combination of databases or components at a singlelocation or at multiple locations, wherein each database or systemincludes any of various suitable security features, such as firewalls,access codes, encryption, deencryption, compression, decompression,and/or the like.

[0075] The present invention is described herein with reference toscreen shots, block diagrams and flowchart illustrations of methods,apparatus (e.g., systems), and computer program products according tovarious aspects of the invention. It will be understood that eachfunctional block of the block diagrams and the flowchart illustrations,and combinations of functional blocks in the block diagrams andflowchart illustrations, respectively, can be implemented by computerprogram instructions. These computer program instructions may be loadedonto a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such thatthe instructions which execute on the computer or other programmabledata processing apparatus create means for implementing the functionsspecified in the flowchart block or blocks.

[0076] These computer program instructions may also be stored in acomputer-readable memory that can direct a computer or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readablememory produce an article of manufacture including instruction meanswhich implement the function specified in the flowchart block or blocks.The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer orother programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series ofoperational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmableapparatus to produce a computer-implemented process such that theinstructions which execute on the computer or other programmableapparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in theflowchart block or blocks.

[0077] Accordingly, functional blocks of the block diagrams andflowchart illustrations support combinations of means for performing thespecified functions, combinations of steps for performing the specifiedfunctions, and program instruction means for performing the specifiedfunctions. It will also be understood that each functional block of theblock diagrams and flowchart illustrations, and combinations offunctional blocks in the block diagrams and flowchart illustrations, canbe implemented by either special purpose hardware-based computer systemswhich perform the specified functions or steps, or suitable combinationsof special purpose hardware and computer instructions.

[0078] In the foregoing specification, the invention has been describedwith reference to specific embodiments. However, it will be appreciatedthat various modifications and changes can be made without departingfrom the scope of the present invention as set forth in the claimsbelow. The specification and figures are to be regarded in anillustrative manner, rather than a restrictive one, and all suchmodifications are intended to be included within the scope of presentinvention. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be determinedby the appended claims and their legal equivalents, rather than by theexamples given above. For example, the steps recited in any of themethod or process claims may be executed in any order and are notlimited to the order presented in the claims.

[0079] Benefits, other advantages, and solutions to problems have beendescribed above with regard to specific embodiments. However, thebenefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any element(s) that maycause any benefit, advantage, or solution to occur or become morepronounced are not to be construed as critical, required, or essentialfeatures or elements of any or all the claims. As used herein, the terms“comprises”, “comprising”, or any other variation thereof, are intendedto cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method,article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not includeonly those elements but may include other elements not expressly listedor inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. Further, noelement described herein is required for the practice of the inventionunless expressly described as “essential” or “critical”.

We claim:
 1. A method for facilitating the anonymous purchase of goodsand services from a remote computer terminal, said method comprising:providing a plurality of transaction account numbers; storing saidplurality of transaction account numbers in a database, said databasehaving a plurality of records, each of said plurality of recordscorresponding to one of said plurality of transaction account numbers,wherein none of said plurality of records is configured to storeidentifying information of a purchaser of one of said plurality oftransaction account numbers; associating one of said plurality oftransaction account numbers with a monetary load value. receiving from aremote computer terminal a request for an authorization of a purchasetransaction having a purchase value, wherein said request is associatedwith said one of said plurality of transaction account numbers comparingsaid purchase value to said monetary load value associated with said oneof said plurality of transaction account numbers to determine if saidpurchase value exceeds said monetary load value; authorizing saidrequest for an authorization of a purchase transaction; subtracting saidpurchase value from said monetary load value associated with said one ofsaid plurality of transaction account numbers to obtain a first updatedmonetary load value; and associating said first updated monetary loadvalue with said one of said plurality of transaction account numbers. 2.The method of claim 1, wherein each of said plurality of transactionaccount numbers is associated with an initial monetary value which isequal to zero at said providing, and further comprising: receiving froma remote computer terminal a purchase request for the purchase of saidone of said plurality of transaction account numbers; and receiving fromsaid remote computer terminal a monetary load request for associatingsaid one of said plurality of transaction account numbers with saidmonetary load value.
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:receiving from a remote computer terminal a monetary load request forincreasing said first updated monetary load value by a reload monetaryvalue, wherein said monetary load request is associated with said one ofsaid plurality of transaction account numbers; adding said first updatedmonetary load value and said reload monetary value to obtain a secondupdated monetary load value; and associating said second updatedmonetary load value with said one of said plurality of transactionaccount numbers.
 4. The method of claim 1, said identifying informationof a purchaser comprising at least one of a name, an address, a socialsecurity number, a credit card number, and a debit card number.
 5. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: if said purchase value exceedssaid monetary load value, denying said request for an authorization of apurchase transaction.
 6. The method of claim 1, said authorizingcomprising transmitting an authorization message to said remote computerterminal.
 7. The method of claim 5, said denying comprising transmittinga denial message to said remote computer terminal.
 8. The method ofclaim 1, wherein said monetary load value is stored in a recordcorresponding to said one of said plurality of transaction accountnumbers.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein said first updated monetaryload value is stored in a record corresponding to said one of saidplurality of transaction account numbers.
 10. The method of claim 3,wherein said second updated monetary load value is stored in a recordcorresponding to said one of said plurality of transaction accountnumbers.
 11. The method of claim 2, said remote computer terminalcomprising one of a point-of-sale terminal, a personal data assistant,or a personal computer.
 12. The method of claim 3, said remote computerterminal comprising one of a point-of-sale terminal, a personal dataassistant, or a personal computer.
 13. The method of claim 1, whereineach of said plurality of transaction account numbers is stored on acard.
 14. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving from aremote terminal a balance inquiry, wherein said balance inquiry isassociated with said one of said plurality of transaction accountnumbers; and transmitting to said remote terminal said first updatedmonetary load value.
 15. The method of claim 3, further comprising:receiving from a remote terminal a balance inquiry, wherein said balanceinquiry is associated with said one of said plurality of transactionaccount numbers; and transmitting to said remote terminal said secondupdated monetary load value.
 16. A system for facilitating the anonymouspurchase of goods and services from an e-commerce website, said systemcomprising: a database configured to store a plurality of transactionaccount numbers, said database having a plurality of records, each ofsaid plurality of records corresponding to one of said plurality oftransaction account numbers, wherein none of said records is configuredto store identifying information of a purchaser of one of said pluralityof transaction account numbers; and an account authorization system inoperative communication with said database and configured to receive arequest for an authorization of a purchase transaction having a purchasevalue, wherein said request is associated with said one of saidplurality of transaction account numbers.
 17. The system of claim 16,further comprising an e-commerce website system coupled to a publiccomputer network and adapted to receive and store order information froma purchaser of one of said plurality of account numbers who connects tothe ecommerce website via said public computer network, wherein saide-commerce website is further coupled to said account authorizationsystem and adapted to transmit to and receive from said accountauthorization system payment authorization information associated withsaid one of said plurality of transaction account numbers.
 18. Thesystem of claim 16, further comprising a remote computer terminal inoperative communication with said account authorization system andadapted to transmit to said account authorization system a request topurchase said one of said plurality of account numbers.
 19. The systemof claim 16, further comprising a remote computer terminal in operativecommunication with said account authorization system and adapted totransmit to said account authorization system a monetary value to beassociated with said one of said plurality of account numbers.
 20. Thesystem of claim 17, said public computer network comprising theInternet.
 21. The system if claim 16, said identifying information of apurchaser comprising at least one of a name, an address, a socialsecurity number, a credit card number, and a debit card number.
 22. Thesystem of claim 18, said remote computer terminal comprising one of apoint-of-sale terminal, a personal data assistant and a personalcomputer.
 23. The system of claim 19, said remote computer terminalcomprising one of a point-of-sale terminal, a personal data assistantand a personal computer.
 24. The system of claim 16, wherein saidaccount authorization system is configured to receive a request topurchase said one of said plurality of transaction account numbers. 25.The system of claim 24, wherein said account authorization system isconfigured to receive a monetary value to be associated with said one ofsaid plurality of transaction account numbers and to associate saidmonetary value with said one of said plurality of transaction accountnumbers.
 26. The system of claim 25, wherein said account authorizationsystem is configured to receive and process a request to increase saidmonetary value by a reload monetary value.
 27. The system of claim 25,wherein said account authorization system is configured to compare saidpurchase value to said monetary value and to deny said purchasetransaction if said purchase value exceeds said monetary value.
 28. Thesystem of claim 25, wherein said account authorization system isconfigured to compare said purchase value to said monetary value and toauthorize said purchase transaction if said purchase value does notexceed said monetary value.
 29. The system of claim 27, wherein saidaccount authorization system is configured to transmit a message denyingsaid purchase transaction.
 30. The system of claim 28, wherein saidaccount authorization system is configured to transmit a messageauthorizing said purchase transaction.
 31. The system of claim 16,wherein said account authorization system is configured to determine ifsaid one of said plurality of transaction account numbers has expiredand to deny said purchase transaction if said one of said plurality oftransaction account numbers has expired.
 32. The system of claim 16,wherein said account authorization system is configured to associatesaid one of said plurality of transaction account numbers with at leastone use-limitation parameter.
 33. The system of claim 16, wherein saidaccount authorization system is configured to determine if saidplurality of transaction account numbers has been reported to be one oflost and stolen and to deny said purchase transaction if said one ofsaid plurality of transaction account numbers has been reported to beone of lost and stolen.
 34. The system of claim 26, wherein said accountauthorization system is configured to determine if said one of saidplurality of transaction account numbers has expired and to deny saidrequest to increase said monetary value by said reload monetary value ifsaid one of said plurality of transaction account numbers has expired.35. The system of claim 26, wherein said account authorization system isconfigured to determine if said one of said plurality of transactionaccount numbers has been reported to be one of lost and stolen and todeny said request to increase said monetary value by said reloadmonetary value if said one of said plurality of transaction accountnumbers has been reported to be one of lost and stolen.
 36. A method forfacilitating the purchase of goods and services anonymously over acomputer network, said method comprising: generating a plurality ofnon-activated account numbers; storing said plurality of non-activatedaccount numbers in a database, said database having a plurality ofrecords, each of said plurality of records corresponding to one of saidplurality of non-activated account numbers, wherein each of saidplurality of records comprises a field for storing one of said pluralityof non-activated account numbers and a field for storing a monetaryvalue associated with each of said plurality of non-activated accountnumbers and wherein none of said plurality of records is configured tostore identifying information of a user of one of said plurality ofnon-activated account numbers, providing one of said plurality ofnon-activated account numbers to a user in return for a monetary paymentnot less than said monetary value associated with said one of saidplurality of non-activated account numbers and converting said one ofsaid plurality of non-activated account numbers to an activated accountnumber; receiving from a computer terminal remote from said database arequest for an authorization of a purchase transaction having a purchasevalue, wherein said request is associated with a transmitted accountnumber; determining if said transmitted account number is equal to saidactivated account number; if said transmitted account number is notequal to said activated account number, sending a denial message denyingsaid request; if said transmitted account number is equal to saidactivated account number, comparing said purchase value to said monetaryvalue associated with said activated account number to determine if saidpurchase value exceeds said monetary value; if said purchase valueexceeds said monetary value associated with said activated accountnumber, sending a denial message denying said request; if said purchasevalue does not exceed said monetary value associated with said activatedaccount number: sending an authorization message authorizing saidpurchase transaction; subtracting said purchase value from said monetaryvalue associated with said activated account number to obtain an updatedmonetary value associated with said activated account number; andstoring said updated monetary value in said field for storing a monetaryvalue.
 37. The method of claim 36, said computer network comprising theInternet.
 38. A method for a purchaser to purchase anonymously goods andservices from an ecommerce website, said method comprising: transmittingto a card provider system a purchase request for the purchase of atransaction number, wherein information sufficient to identify thepurchaser of said transaction number is not provided to said cardprovider system; transmitting to said card provider system a monetaryload request for associating a monetary load value with said transactionnumber; receiving from said card provider system authorization of saidpurchase request; accessing a merchant via an e-commerce website andselecting a purchase; providing to said merchant via said e-commercewebsite said transaction number as a form of payment for said purchase.39. A method for facilitating the purchase of goods and servicesanonymously over a computer network, said method comprising: generatinga plurality of transaction account numbers; storing said plurality oftransaction account numbers in a database, said database having aplurality of records, each of said plurality of records corresponding toone of said plurality of transaction account number wherein none of saidrecords is configured to store identifying information of a purchaser ofone of said plurality of transaction account numbers; associating amonetary value with said one of said plurality of transaction accountnumbers; receiving from a computer remote from said database a requestfor an authorization of a purchase transaction having a purchase value,wherein said request is associated with a transmitted account number;determining if said transmitted account number is equal to said one ofsaid plurality of transaction account numbers; if said transmittedaccount number is not equal to said one of said plurality of transactionaccount numbers, sending a denial message denying said request; if saidtransmitted account number is equal to said one of said plurality oftransaction account numbers, comparing said purchase value to saidmonetary value associated with said one of said plurality of transactionaccount numbers to determine if said purchase value exceeds saidmonetary value; if said purchase value exceeds said monetary valueassociated with said one of said plurality of transaction accountnumbers, sending a denial message denying said request; if said purchasevalue does not exceed said monetary value associated with said one ofsaid plurality of transaction account numbers; sending an authorizationmessage authorizing said purchase transaction; and subtracting saidpurchase value from said monetary value associated with said one of saidplurality of transaction account numbers to obtain a first updatedmonetary value associated with said one of said plurality of transactionaccount numbers.
 40. The method of claim 39, said computer networkcomprising the Internet.
 41. The method of claim 39, said identifyinginformation of a purchaser comprising at least one of a name, anaddress, a social security number, a credit card number, and a debitcard number.
 42. The method of claim 39, wherein each of said pluralityof transaction account numbers is associated with an initial monetaryvalue which is equal to zero at said generating, and further comprising:receiving a purchase request for the purchase of said one of saidplurality of transaction account numbers; and receiving a monetary loadrequest for associating said one of said plurality of transactionaccount numbers with said monetary value.
 43. The method of claim 39,further comprising: receiving a monetary load request for increasingsaid first updated monetary value by a reload monetary value, whereinsaid monetary load request is associated with said one of said pluralityof transaction account numbers; adding said first updated monetary valueand said reload monetary value to obtain a second updated monetary loadvalue; and associating said second updated monetary load value with saidone of said plurality of transaction account numbers.
 44. The method ofclaim 39, further comprising: receiving from a terminal remote from saiddatabase a balance inquiry, wherein said balance inquiry is associatedwith said one of said plurality of transaction account numbers; andtransmitting to said terminal said first updated monetary value.
 45. Themethod of claim 43, further comprising: receiving from a terminal remotefrom said database a balance inquiry, wherein said balance inquiry isassociated with said one of said plurality of transaction accountnumbers; and transmitting to said terminal said second updated monetaryload value.
 46. A method for facilitating the anonymous purchase ofgoods and services from a remote computer terminal, said methodcomprising: providing a plurality of transaction account numbers;storing said plurality of transaction account numbers in a database of ahost, said database having a plurality of records, each of saidplurality of records corresponding to one of said plurality oftransaction account numbers, wherein said plurality of records isconfigured to store identifying information of a purchaser of one ofsaid plurality of transaction account numbers and wherein said host isnot configured to provide said identifying information to a non-hostentity; associating one of said plurality of transaction account numberswith a monetary load value; receiving from a remote computer terminal arequest for an authorization of a purchase transaction having a purchasevalue, wherein said request is associated with said one of saidplurality of transaction account numbers; 30 comparing said purchasevalue to said monetary load value associated with said one of saidplurality of transaction account numbers to determine if said purchasevalue exceeds said monetary load value; authorizing said request for anauthorization of a purchase transaction; subtracting said purchase valuefrom said monetary load value associated with said one of said pluralityof transaction account numbers to obtain a first updated monetary loadvalue; and associating said first updated monetary load value with saidone of said plurality of transaction account numbers.
 47. The method ofclaim 46, wherein each of said plurality of transaction account numbersis associated with an initial monetary value which is equal to zero atsaid providing, and further comprising: receiving from a remote computerterminal a purchase request for the purchase of said one of saidplurality of transaction account numbers; and receiving from said remotecomputer terminal a monetary load request for associating said one ofsaid plurality of transaction account numbers with said monetary loadvalue.
 48. The method of claim 46, further comprising: receiving from aremote computer terminal a monetary load request for increasing saidfirst updated monetary load value by a reload monetary value, whereinsaid monetary load request is associated with said one of said pluralityof transaction account numbers; adding said first updated monetary loadvalue and said reload monetary value to obtain a second updated monetaryload value; and associating said second updated monetary load value withsaid one of said plurality of transaction account numbers.
 49. Themethod of claim 16, said identifying information of a purchasercomprising at least one of a name, an address, a social security number,a credit card number, and a debit card number.
 50. The method of claim46, further comprising: if said purchase value exceeds said monetaryload value, denying said request for an authorization of a purchasetransaction.
 51. The method of claim 46, wherein said monetary loadvalue is stored in a record corresponding to said one of said pluralityof transaction account numbers.
 52. The method of claim 46, wherein saidfirst updated monetary load value is stored in a record corresponding tosaid one of said plurality of transaction account numbers.
 53. Themethod of claim 48, wherein said second updated monetary load value isstored in a record corresponding to said one of said plurality oftransaction account numbers.
 54. The method of claim 46, furthercomprising: receiving from a remote terminal a balance inquiry, whereinsaid balance inquiry is associated with said one of said plurality oftransaction account numbers; and transmitting to said remote terminalsaid first updated monetary load value.
 55. The method of claim 48,further comprising: receiving from a remote terminal a balance inquiry,wherein said balance inquiry is associated with said one of saidplurality of transaction account numbers; and transmitting to saidremote terminal said second updated monetary load value.